Differential enantioselectivity of murine glutathione S-transferase isoenzymes in the glutathione conjugation of trans-3,4-dihydroxy-1, 2-oxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydrobenzo[c]phenanthrene stereoisomers

Loss of the Nrf2 transcription factor causes a marked reduction in constitutive and inducible expression of the glutathione S-transferase Gsta1, Gsta2, Gstm1, Gstm2, Gstm3 and Gstm4 genes in the livers of male and female mice

Mice that lack the Nrf2 basic-region leucine-zipper transcription factor are more sensitive than wild-type (WT) animals to the cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of foreign chemicals and oxidants. To determine the basis for the decrease in tolerance of the Nrf2 homozygous null mice to xenobiotics, enzyme assay, Western blotting and gene-specific real-time PCR (TaqMan) have been used to examine the extent to which hepatic expression of GSH-dependent enzymes is influenced by the transcription factor. The amounts of protein and mRNA for class Alpha, Mu and Pi glutathione S-transferases were compared between WT and Nrf2 knockout (KO) mice of both sexes under both constitutive and inducible conditions. Among the class Alpha and class Mu transferases, constitutive expression of Gsta1, Gsta2, Gstm1, Gstm2, Gstm3, Gstm4 and Gstm6 subunits was reduced in the livers of Nrf2 mutant mice to between 3% and 60% of that observed in WT mice. Induction of these subunits by butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) was more marked in WT female mice than in WT male mice. TaqMan analyses showed the increase in transferase mRNA caused by BHA was attenuated in Nrf2(-/-) mice, with the effect being most apparent in the case of Gsta1, Gstm1 and Gstm3. Amongst class Pi transferase subunits, the constitutive hepatic level of mRNA for Gstp1 and Gstp2 was not substantially affected in the KO mice, but their induction by BHA was dependent on Nrf2; this was more obvious in female mutant mice than in male mice. Nrf2 KO mice exhibited reduced constitutive expression of the glutamate cysteine ligase catalytic subunit, and, to a lesser extent, the expression of glutamate cysteine ligase modifier subunit. Little variation was observed in the levels of glutathione synthase in the different mouse lines. Thus the increased sensitivity of Nrf2(-/-) mice to xenobiotics can be partly attributed to a loss in constitutive expression of multiple GSH-dependent enzymes, which causes a reduction in intrinsic detoxification capacity in the KO animal. These data also indicate that attenuated induction of GSH-dependent enzymes in Nrf2(-/-) mice probably accounts for their failure to adapt to chronic exposure to chemical and oxidative stress.

Catalytic activities of human alpha class glutathione transferases toward carcinogenic dibenzo[a,l]pyrene diol epoxides

In this study, human glutathione transferases (GSTs) of alpha class have been assayed with the ultimate carcinogenic (-)-anti- and (+)-syn-diol epoxides (DEs) derived from the nonplanar dibenzo[a,l]pyrene (DBPDE) and the (+)-anti-diol epoxide of the planar benzo[a]pyrene [(+)-anti-BPDE] in the presence of glutathione (GSH). In all DEs, the benzylic oxirane carbon reacting with GSH, possess R-absolute configuration. GSTA1-1 demonstrated activity with all DEs tested whereas A2-2 and A3-3 only were active with the DBPDE enantiomers. With GSTA4-4, no detectable activity was observed. GSTA1-1 was found to be the most efficient enzyme and demonstrated a catalytic efficiency (k(cat)/K(m)) of 464 mM(-)(1) s(-)(1) with (+)-syn-DBPDE. This activity was about 7-fold higher than that observed with (-)-anti-DBPDE and more than 65-fold higher than previously observed with less complex fjord-region DEs. GSTA3-3 also demonstrated high k(cat)/K(m) with the DEs of DBP and a high preference for the (+)-syn-DBPDE enantiomer [190 vs 16.2 mM(-)(1) s(-)(1) for (-)-anti-DBPDE]. Lowest k(cat)/K(m) value of the active enzymes was observed with GSTA2-2. In this case, 30.4 mM(-)(1) s(-)(1) was estimated for (+)-syn-DBPDE and 3.4 mM(-)(1) s(-)(1) with (-)-anti-DBPDE. Comparing the activity of the alpha class GSTs with (-)-anti-DBPDE and (+)-anti-BPDE revealed that GSTA1-1 was considerable more active with the former substrate (about 25-fold). Molecular modeling studies showed that the H-site of GSTA1-1 is deeper and wider than that of GSTA4-4. This is mainly due to the changes of Ser212-->Tyr212 and Ala216-->Val216, which cause a shallower active site, which cannot accommodate large substrates such as DBPDE. The higher activity of GSTA1-1 with (+)-syn-DBPDE relative to (-)-anti-DBPDE is explained by the formation of more favorable interactions between the substrate and the enzyme-GSH complex. The presence of GSTA1-1 in significant amounts in human lung, a primary target tissue for PAH carcinogenesis, may be an important factor for the protection against the harmful action of this type of potent carcinogenic intermediates.